Help Protect the Giant Pacific Octopus - Sign the petition

[Pullmyfinger]

That doesn't address the point Chrpai was making now does it?
This stinks of a bait and switch.
In the other threads that led up to this petition, the focus was on protecting Cove 2 only.
NOW it's become a push for a state wide ban.

You choose to ignore this obvious change with your reply of "then don't sign it." True enough, of course, just don't sign it.

This was starting to get pitched on this forum as a call to protect Cove 2, which I think would be a good thing, from what I've read so far.
Now after what seems to be a classic bait and switch tactic..it's a call to support a statewide ban, and asking for that same support from the same pool of Scubaboard members.

Rather than...."then don't sign it."

How about...."then just don't bull**** me."

-Mitch

@ chrpai..then dont sign it.

Signed..thanks for posting this.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

It was because of this Octopus that Washington State made it into the book "50 Places to Dive Before you Die." There were so many tropical destinations that could not make it in that book but Washington did. People need to realize that GPO is a celebrity!

 

[Pullmyfinger]

The petition asks for a no-take zone at the Coves, and for the state to CONSIDER whether protection is needed elsewhere.

I love our octos . . . they are intelligent and amazing creatures, and all of us who dive love to find them. I doubt they need protecting from scuba divers in general. They aren't rare, and people who want to arm-wrestle a 100 pound animal made entirely of muscle in order to harvest something that's inedible without significant preparation aren't all that common. But I don't mind petitioning the State to consider protection, especially if the fallback is a regulation prohibiting hunting in a city park.

That's my problem with this. Instead of just writing the petition and asking for a no take zone at cove 2, someone decided to add a potential back door and allow present or future "consideration" for more widespread measures.
It could have been written as a single protective measure, instead of trying to bundle other things with the petition.

I agree with you about octos, I don't eat them, and I certainly don't see how anyone is going to eat 80 lbs or more of octopus meat. But this petition is starting to appear like it is a means of pushing for a statewide ban, or at least lay the groundwork for a future push to do so.

This move would get more support if they would revise it to only Cove 2, as was stated in the other threads.
I'm suspicious of the frosting.


-Mitch

 

[Tjack]

Signed it....thanks Mom

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

That's my problem with this. Instead of just writing the petition and asking for a no take zone at cove 2, someone decided to add a potential back door and allow present or future "consideration" for more widespread measures.
It could have been written as a single protective measure, instead of trying to bundle other things with the petition.

I agree with you about octos, I don't eat them, and I certainly don't see how anyone is going to eat 80 lbs or more of octopus meat. But this petition is starting to appear like it is a means of pushing for a statewide ban, or at least lay the groundwork for a future push to do so.

This move would get more support if they would revise it to only Cove 2, as was stated in the other threads.
I'm suspicious of the frosting.


-Mitch

It's really more a push to re-examine laws that were written four decades ago and simply left on the books because there has not, until now, been a reason to change them.

There is no intent to implement a statewide ban, although I'm sure some folks would want one. But the petition isn't calling for one, nor do I think the Fish & Wildlife Commission would seriously consider it.

What we're asking is for a restriction on hunting at our popular dive sites. The people pushing for this are not anti-hunting ... but do see a fundamental conflict of interest between consumptive and non-consumptive users when it comes to this particular animal. Current regs were written in a day when there were very few divers, and most of those who did dive were doing so primarily to fish and hunt. Times change ... and regs need to be updated to accommodate those changes.

We do recognize that hunters have a right to hunt. Nobody's disputing that. We only ask that they not do so in our parks. Frankly, most responsible hunters wouldn't consider it. But, as we've seen, there will always be those few who will fall back on the "but it's legal" argument. This forces us to make it not legal to hunt in those specific places. And that is the entire purpose of what we're trying to do.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Zen Diving Inc.]

I found something posted in regards to this topic within the link provided by NWGD on the other thread:

"The biggest threat the to Puget octopus is Ling cods and wolf eels. It is a proven fact that ling cods eat octopus eggs and small octopuses among many other food items, and male ling cod are competing with octopuses for den sites as may wolf eels. Man is not the problem here. Ask a Puget sound diver that has done a lot of diving around the sound. I personally been diving all over Puget Sound for over 15 years. The lowest count of octopuses are in Marine sanctuaries, because no fishing is allow and the ling cods grow to be monsters in those parks. My first dive at Edmond's underwater park I could find several octopuses, but today you are very lucky to find one. Please be carefully what you ask for. Sometimes man thinks he is helping, but nature has a way of fooling him.~ Todd Buzzetti"


I find the point to be interesting to say the least. Aside from closing due to popular demand, is any study of relevant issue's or impact being taken into consideration?

​

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I'll agree with some of his comments, but disagree with others, as well as his conclusions. Both GPOs and ling cods are apex predators, and compete for similar food sources ... including each other. Wolf eels occasionally go after smaller octopus, but that's no surprise ... in the ocean everybody eats somebody, and gets eaten by somebody else. But for the most part, wolfies dine on crustaceans ... just like octopus do.

His opening statement simply isn't supportable. We don't know what threatens GPO's ... but once they reach a certain size, not much does. And, based on my own 2,500+ dives in Puget Sound, I can say with certainty that they cohabit pretty well with lings and wolfies.

He's basing his conclusions on observations at one site ... Brackett's Landing (Edmonds Underwater Park), and it is true that there are monster lings there and very, very few octopus. No one can really say why, however. It may be due to the abundance of lings, but it may also be due to the habitat or some other aspect of the area. However, octopus and large lings share many sites ... Keystone Jetty for example, which is another Marine Protected Area and home to some lings well in excess of four feet. I can think of several sites in the San Juans that are prolific in both lings and GPOs. For that matter, at Cove 2 the most famous den ... under the remains of the Honey Bear ... can, on any given day, be occupied by a large octopus, or a monster ling, or it can be empty. As for wolfies, take a trip to Day Island Wall or Sunrise ... you'll find plenty of full-size wolfies and GPOs occupying dens in close proximity to each other. And they don't appear to be threatened by the presence of the other species. I've been diving those sites for years, and the relative numbers of both species remain fairly constant.

Frankly, the biggest threat to all of those species in Puget Sound is pollution ... but that's another topic altogether ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[letterboy]

Frankly, the biggest threat to all of those species in Puget Sound is pollution ... but that's another topic altogether ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

talk about unreasonable, next thing you know you are going to want the pollution to stop. When will you stop this eco crap Bob?



/sarcasm

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

talk about unreasonable, next thing you know you are going to want the pollution to stop. When will you stop this eco crap Bob?



/sarcasm

... actually, that's part of my "other" job ... although I'm just the guy who writes about how to keep the equipment running ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Pullmyfinger]

Thanks for clarifying that Bob,

Man, it's hard to follow all of these threads.

-Mitch

It's really more a push to re-examine laws that were written four decades ago and simply left on the books because there has not, until now, been a reason to change them.

There is no intent to implement a statewide ban, although I'm sure some folks would want one. But the petition isn't calling for one, nor do I think the Fish & Wildlife Commission would seriously consider it.

What we're asking is for a restriction on hunting at our popular dive sites. The people pushing for this are not anti-hunting ... but do see a fundamental conflict of interest between consumptive and non-consumptive users when it comes to this particular animal. Current regs were written in a day when there were very few divers, and most of those who did dive were doing so primarily to fish and hunt. Times change ... and regs need to be updated to accommodate those changes.

We do recognize that hunters have a right to hunt. Nobody's disputing that. We only ask that they not do so in our parks. Frankly, most responsible hunters wouldn't consider it. But, as we've seen, there will always be those few who will fall back on the "but it's legal" argument. This forces us to make it not legal to hunt in those specific places. And that is the entire purpose of what we're trying to do.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)